


I Want You Here With Me (Like How I Pictured It)

by phloridas



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: 2009 Phan, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Skype
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-17 03:32:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9302321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phloridas/pseuds/phloridas
Summary: 2009!Dan is so anxious for his first Skype call with Phil, he doesn't know what to do with himself. But as it gets closer and closer to their scheduled time, Phil is still nowhere to be found. How does Dan handle Phil's lateness? And will Phil ever show up for the call?





	

**Author's Note:**

> After binging on 2009!phan videos (as you do), I suddenly felt inspired to write this short little angsty fic and cranked this out in a few hours! Title is taken from Something Great, one of my favorite One Direction songs. I hope you enjoy!!
> 
> (Seriously though, don't tell me Dan wasn't a nervous wreck during those first few Skype calls) ;)

_ 7:45 PM _

Dan is sitting straight up in bed, supported by several semi-flat pillows, his stomach overrun with butterflies as he opens his laptop. It's alright if he's a little early, right? Especially with the Internet being as slow as it is here. Maybe he should wait just a little bit...no, that’s silly, it’s not like he has anything better to do.

 

_ 7:47 PM _

His browser opens just fine, only just slightly easing the weight on his chest. But wait. He needs to open Skype, not Firefox!  _ Idiot!  _ He finds the  _ S _ symbol on his crowded desktop and double clicks, waiting what seems like an eternity for the application to finally open. With its signature whoosh, he discovers that a few of his friends are online, but he doesn’t feel like talking to any of them.  _ AmazingPhil _ is nowhere to be found. Of course. Why would Phil be early for this kind of thing? It's just a stupid Skype call, for crying out loud. So how come Dan can feel his heart pounding against his chest like a prisoner desperate to be set free?

 

_ 7:50 PM _

Should he get a snack? Something to make him feel more comfortable and fill the awkward silences that were bound to occur? No, that's stupid. He just ate a couple hours ago and besides, it's rude to eat and talk at the same time. With still no sign of Phil, he clicked back onto Firefox to check Twitter. Almost on instinct, he finds Phil in his followers list (a sight that still sends a thrill through him even a few months later) and clicks over to his profile, but he hadn't tweeted anything since around 10:30 this morning. Was Phil okay? _Yeah, of course he is, stop being silly, brain._ Phil had texted him just a couple of hours ago to double check that Dan was still up for Skyping tonight. **yh of course! 8:00 still good for you?** he had typed out, fingers shaking.

Phil's reply came almost immediately.  **yes indeedy! be there or be square :3** Dan had smiled down at his phone, but his jumbled brain prevented him from sending a reply, so he just left it alone.

 

_ 7:54 PM _

Six minutes now. Is Phil getting ready too? Dan tries to picture that drab university hall he felt so accustomed to seeing, with Phil’s colourful bedsheets and grey cork board behind him. Would he be seated on the floor, like in his videos? No, that's silly, they were Skyping through their computers, not Phil’s camera. He’d probably be set up at his desk, like where he filmed his “Psycho Boyfriend!” video last year. Or maybe...was it too much to hope he’d be on his bed, too? They had been talking loads and Dan was starting to feel (mostly) comfortable with Phil, but did he feel comfortable enough to get that...intimate?

_ Oh shut up, Dan, lying on your bed to Skype someone is not  _ intimate.  _ You’ve done it with your friends before. _

But Phil isn’t Dan. He’s a whole four years older (although he’s never stopped acting like a teenager), so he might have some completely different ideas about...well, whatever they are. (What were they, anyway? Dan could definitely detect some sexual undertones in their messages, but maybe Phil was just being friendly?) Dan’s mind races as fast as his heart as he continues to scroll through Twitter, barely taking anything in.

 

_ 7:59 PM _

Back on Skype now, Dan can feel jitters coursing throughout his entire body as he desperately waits for Phil’s name to appear in his contacts. It should be any second now. Right? But as the seconds tick closer to 8:00 and there’s still no sign of Phil, Dan feels his breath begin to catch in his throat. Phil was having second thoughts. Of course. He should have known. Phil doesn’t want to actually video chat with him, even for only a few minutes. He’s probably composing a text to Dan now, trying to find the best way to let him down easily. Still....the clock ticks over to 8:00 and suddenly, Dan can’t take it any longer, it’s like he’s about to explode and he’s just chanting  _ Please come online, please come online, please come online _ , praying to every supernatural deity he has ever known, but Phil’s name still doesn’t appear. Well, he’s probably in the middle of something. Dan understands how that is. This is in fact the first event he can remember where he’s actually arrived early of his own accord. But of course Phil is late.

 

_ 8:05 PM _

Five minutes. Phil is now five minutes late. Dan honestly doesn’t know what to do with himself. A large part of him wants to fly over to that adorable emo-haired boy and punch him straight in his perfectly soft face. Who does he think he is, leaving Dan in this horrible state? Dan is used to being the late one, quite accustomed to frantically texting apologies half an hour after he was supposed to meet a friend while pulling on his shoes and rushing over to their meeting place. But he had very little experience with being the one on the other side, constantly worrying and wondering if his friend was okay and if he had somehow done something wrong. He decides to stop staring endlessly at Skype and open Twitter back up. But Phil still hasn’t tweeted anything new. Maybe he’s stuck in another one of his “crazy people” situations, slightly dying inside but also probably a bit excited for new vlog material. Well, whatever is happening, Dan hopes that Phil is okay. He can’t imagine his reaction if anything happened to him.

 

_ 8:15 PM  _

Where is Phil?? It’s already been fifteen minutes and still, not a word from his YouTube senpai. Maybe Phil isn’t the kind of person he portrays himself as in his videos and text messages. Maybe he doesn’t really give a crap about his friends and just does whatever he pleases. He’s probably out with his uni friends now, drinking and laughing it up, Dan never even coming close to crossing his mind. Dan feels tears prick behind his eyes, as well as the tickle inside his nose that always threatens a massive cry session, just waiting for him to release his feelings. But not tonight. Phil will probably be on any minute, and Dan can’t stand the thought of the older boy seeing him a mess like this--even if he kind of deserves it for bringing it onto him. Dan picks up his phone, even starts a text to Phil to ask what’s going on, but discards it. If Phil isn’t texting him, then he’s probably too busy with something else and doesn’t want to be disturbed. Dan finally tries to play some flash games to clear his mind, but there’s no denying the twist of his heart every time he reminds himself that Phil forgot about him.

 

_ 8:32 PM _

It’s been over a half hour now, and Phil’s name still hasn’t popped up. Dan takes in a shaky breath and allows himself to resign to defeat. Phil doesn’t really want to talk to him. Of course. It was probably all a ruse he had set up just to make Dan appear gullible and stupid. He’s probably cackling about it right now with his friends. Just because they have similar interests and Phil makes him feel better than anyone else--that doesn’t mean a thing. Dan’s stomach sinks all the way to his feet, which are curled up beneath him with his knees hugged to his chest, his laptop already tossed off to the side. He’s so  _ stupid _ to think he ever had a chance with Phil. So  _ stupid _ to get his hopes up for even one second. So  _ stupid, stupid, stupid…. _

 

_ 8:37 PM _

In the midst of Dan’s ruminations, he almost doesn’t hear the tinny ringing noise coming from his laptop speakers. But there, right there-- _ Incoming call from: Phil Lester _ flashes on his screen, along with Phil’s disgustingly adorable profile picture. No way. There’s no way. After Dan had already given up hope? He picks up his laptop again, arms shaking, stomach churning, heart galloping at the speed of a lion on the hunt, and presses the green “Answer” button, completely unsure what to expect.

But just as he pictured it, there’s Phil’s beautiful face, his blank eggshell wall behind him and his bright duvet all around him. And it’s smiling, bigger than Dan has ever seen it, with his hand violently vibrating back and forth in what appears to be an incredibly enthusiastic wave. Suddenly, Dan can’t help it, he’s waving back, a ridiculous smile breaking his craterlike dimples into his cheeks.

“I’m so, so sorry I’m late, Dan!” Phil says, and Dan swears his blue eyes are shining even in his pixelated image. “We were filming this scene that we had to get done tonight so that I can edit it tomorrow, and my phone died right in the middle of it so I couldn’t text you and I just wanted to get back here as soon as possible, but nothing was going right and...well, I’m here now anyway! And this is so cool, I finally get to see you! How are you? I hope you weren’t waiting too long for me!”

Dan can’t help it, he cracks up. No  _ way _ is he ever letting Phil know just how long he waited there, stalking Skype like some girl in the 50’s pathetically waiting by the phone. “I’m doing alright! Well, a lot better now that you’re here, truthfully. I should have guessed that this would happen, though. Trust Phil to be in some disaster that prevents him from making the Skype call he’s been planning for the past week now. But man, do I have so much to tell you!”

Phil’s smile grows even wider, if that’s possible. “Go on, spill it! I’d love to hear about your life. God knows mine is boring enough.”

Dan rolls his eyes even though Phil probably can’t see through the four pixels on his screen. “Oh I’m sure you get up to some crazy shenanigans at uni. But anyway…” And as he rambles on about his day, the weight finally lifts from his chest, leaving him feeling feathery light and exhilaratingly free. Phil is here and finally, finally, everything is alright. That wonderful boy Dan had idolized for years now, who he had only just recently swallowed the courage to message, is now his rock, and deep down, he knows that nobody can take that away from him.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I hope this satisfied your daily dose of 2009!phan and of course, kudos and comments are greatly appreciated! And if you ever want to chat, you can come say hi over at phloridas on Tumblr, I'm always happy to talk! :)


End file.
